esp32 News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 13, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Trail Mate open-source firmware leverages Meshtastic and MeshCore for ESP32 off-grid handhelds

vicliu624’s Trail Mate is an open-source firmware for off-grid communication and GPS coordinates sharing, leveraging the Meshtastic, MeshCore, and other projects, and designed for ESP32 handhelds such as LILYGO’s T-LoRa Pager or M5Stack’s Tab5 with a LoRaWAN module. The Trail Mate firmware provides a fixed north-up GPS map, direct LoRa text messaging through Meshtastic or MeshCore mesh networks without relying on a smartphone, and prioritizes stability, efficiency, and interoperability over feature density. Trail Mate user interface highlights: Simple main menu with four icons: GPS, LoRa chat, tracker, and system utilities. GPS map Fixed North-Up map orientation (no rotation) Fully offline map rendering from SD card tiles (png/jpg files) Three switchable base layers: OSM / Terrain / Satellite Optional contour overlay for terrain shape awareness Real-time position marker for the current GPS fix Discrete zoom levels optimized for embedded systems Simple breadcrumb trails for path awareness Fast in-page layer switching via […]

April 9, 2026April 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Open-source hardware DAB+ receiver combines ESP32 SoC with Skyworks SI4684 digital radio chip

When I wrote about a DIY ESP32-S3 internet radio last week, “raspbeguy” commented he’d rather choose an ESP32-based DIY DAB+ receiver kit, such as the one offered by the PE5PVB project based on a Skyworth SI4684 receiver. I first heard about DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) in 2003 when we considered adding it to a CD player. It’s basically the digital equivalent of analog FM/AM radios, and I haven’t heard much about it since DAB and the “new” DAB+ standard are mostly a European story (see coverage map below). PE5PVB’s open-source hardware DAB receiver might still be worth a look. PE5PVB’s SI4684 ESP32 DAB+ receiver features: Controller – ESP32 microcontroller with WiFi and Bluetooth (DoIT ESP32 devkit v1) Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – Color LCD screen with 320×240 resolution (SPI) Audio 2x RCA connectors for speakers 3.5mm headphone jack with amplifier DAB+ receiver – Skyworks SI4684 loaded with DAB+ […]

April 9, 2026April 9, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Flash Bee – An ESP32-C3-based DIY handheld lightning detector

Flash Bee is an easy-to-make DIY handheld lightning detector based on off-the-shelf parts such as the XIAO ESP32C3 board and the Round Display for XIAO, as well as a 3D-printed enclosure. The design relies on the AMS AS3935 Franklin lightning sensor that’s been around for years, and found in kits like Sparkfun’s Arduino IoT weather station, which is capable of detecting lightning up to 40 km away with 1km accuracy. While it’s not quite new technology, I found the Flash Bee design to be rather cute and convenient, and it looks really easy to reproduce. Flash Bee key components: Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth LE 5.0 connectivity ($4.90) Round Display for XIAO – 1.28-inch touchscreen display with 240×240 resolution, 65K colors, 100 Hz refresh rate ($18) Grove Lightning Sensor AS3935 ($26.90, alternative link if out of stock) 3.7V 400mAh LiPo battery Slide switch 2x M2 5mm […]

April 7, 2026 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

SN1 Solar Node – An ESP32-C3-based board with IP67 enclosure, solar charging, ESPHome firmware

Designed by Granz Scientific LLC, the SN1 Solar Node is an ESP32-C3-based IoT node/development board designed specifically for off-grid IoT projects. Development boards like Seeed Studio Wio Tracker, or industrial controllers like DFRobot LoRaWAN Control Terminal, allow you to handle your own battery management and weatherproofing, or on the other end, you have products like SenseCAP Solar Node P1 that come with everything integrated but do not allow adding custom hardware. This is where the SN1 Solar Node is different; it features an IP67-rated enclosure with an integrated solar panel on the lid, 18650 battery support, and prototyping strip-board areas for custom circuitry. It also includes a smart power switch that allows the battery to continue charging from the solar panel even when the board is powered off. Additionally, it provides battery voltage monitoring, breaks out most GPIOs for easy access, and includes optional jumpers for an onboard LED and […]

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

NASA Artemis Watch 2.0 – An ESP32-S3-powered, NASA-inspired wearable kit for education

CircuitMess NASA Artemis Watch 2.0 is a programmable, NASA-themed smartwatch based on an ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth module and a 1.14-inch monochrome display. The watch also features an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a buzzer, an RTC, a button, several LEDs, and a USB port for programming and charging the built-in 600 mAh battery. NASA Artemis Watch 2.0 specifications: Core module – ESP32-S3-MINI-1-N4R2 SoC – ESP32-S3 dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor with WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity Memory – 2MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB QSPI flash PCB antenna Display – Built-in 1.44-inch display USB – 1x USB Type-C port for charging and programming Sensors 6-axis LSM6DS3TR accelerometer and gyroscope Temperature sensor (TBC) Misc Lever button 6x user LEDs, 1x power LED, 1x RGB LED Buzzer RTC + backup battery Power Supply 5V via USB-C port 600 mAh LiPo battery, good for 2 to 3 hours on a charge Dimensions and Weight – […]

April 5, 2026April 5, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ESP32-S3 gets post-quantum encryption with Aethyr Edge Node open-source firmware

Aethyr Research has released post-quantum encrypted IoT edge node firmware for ESP32-S3 targets that boots in 2.1 seconds and supports full PQC (Post Quantum Cryptography) handshakes in 35ms. Public-key cryptographic algorithms such as RSA and ECC will soon have to be replaced due to the advance of quantum computers that will be able to crack such encryption within a few hours to days using Shor’s algorithm. While there’s still time, Google recently updated its timeline for post-quantum cryptography migration to 2029, mostly because it’s possible to store data now for an attack once sufficiently powerful quantum computers become available, and the NIST FIPS 203 standard (ML-KEM-768) mandates quantum-resistant security by 2035. The Aethyr Edge Node open-source firmware relies on formally verified ML-KEM-768 (FIPS 203) post-quantum key exchange, BLAKE3 integrity, and XChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption to implement post-quantum encryption to connect to a server over the AethyrWire Protocol (AWP). It’s a building block […]

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Velxio is an open-source, self-hosted Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and ESP32 simulator

Velxio is an open-source, self-hosted simulator for Arduino, ESP32, and Raspberry Pi boards that works directly in your web browser. You can drag-and-drop boards, connect components and modules, write and run code in Arduino or Python, and access the serial console, all without hardware. If it looks similar to what the Wokwi simulator has to offer, it’s because Velxio was inspired by it and even integrates the AVR8 CPU emulator, RP2040 emulator, and QEMU fork for ESP32 Xtensa emulation from the Wokwi project. But the key difference is that Velxio can be self-hosted, although there’s also an online demo. Velxio currently supports 19 targets across five architectures AVR8 (ATmega / ATtiny) Arm Cortex-M0+ (Raspberry Pi RP2040) RISC-V RV32IMC/EC (ESP32-C3 / CH32V003) Xtensa LX6/LX7 (ESP32 / ESP32-S3 via QEMU) Arm Cortex-A53 (Raspberry Pi 3 Linux via QEMU) The project also offers 48 components. The developer mentions that additional features compared to […]

March 31, 2026March 30, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

T-Display-P4 smartphone-like devkit features ESP32-P4 MCU, ESP32-C6 wireless SoC, and SX1262/LR2021 LoRa transceiver

LILYGO T-Display-P4 is a feature-rich ESP32-P4 + ESP32-C6 devkit, but with a smartphone-like design and support for GPS, Ethernet, and LoRaWAN through SX1262 or LR2021 LoRa transceiver, besides the usual WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.x, and 802.15.4 wireless connectivity. The T-Display-P4 is offered with either a 4.05-inch IPS display and a 2MP front-facing camera or a 4.1-inch AMOLED with a 2MP rear camera. The devkit is equipped with 32MB PSRAM and 16MB NOR flash for the ESP32-P4, a microSD card slot, a built-in microphone and speaker, a 3.5mm audio jack, a few USB ports, and a 9-axis motion sensor, as well as a GPIO port and two Qwiic connectors for expansion. T-Display-P4 specifications: MCU – ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 360 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and […]